


The Rate of Reaction

by adoribiliusKermode, Purple_Space_Cats



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrienne is oblivious, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, DUMB CHILDREN, F/M, Genderswap, Identity Reveal, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Let's all be mean to the children, Make up and Make Out already, Mistaken Identity, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Marin Dupain-Cheng, They're all pretty oblivious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 20:13:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adoribiliusKermode/pseuds/adoribiliusKermode, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_Space_Cats/pseuds/Purple_Space_Cats
Summary: “So here we go. You’re confused by a frankly really questionable descision your crush made, I’m bawling like a baby because a literal supermodel won’t date me-we’re really messed up, huh?”Marinette becomes Marin. Adrien becomes Adrienne. Dynamics are shifted, but it's just as messed up.





	1. Chapter 1

Adrienne Agreste had been having a long day, but there were worse things to have to do. Even now as she finished up with the late lunch that her Mother had yet again missed, the blonde sighed a little. At least it was one of her only days off. She'd spent most of the time taking a catnap to regain the lost energy as Chat Noire during her late-night Akuma battles, and now she was more than awake.

"Plagg." She called out to summon her Kwami to her. The little black cat groaned but flew over to her as ordered, knowing he couldn't complain because he'd been allowed to binge on cheese while she catnapped. "Claws Out!" Adrienne grinned, a bright green light sweeping over her and leaving her in a black leather costume. The blonde bounded out the window and smiled, loose blonde hair flying in all directions.

Adrienne found a grinning Ladybeetle leaning against the wall at their meeting spot, two cups of coffee in his hand. “Hey, Kitty! How’s your night so far?” Marin handed Adrienne one of the cups of coffee. “Vanilla Macchiato with about five pumps of Chocolate?” A grin nearly split the blonde's face in two as she accepted the coffee, belt-tail swinging behind her. "Pretty good so far. Better now. Thanks, LB, I owe you one." As much as she hated to admit it, in her sleep-deprived superheroine and supermodel life, the feline ran on mostly caffeine.

“Yeah, no worries! Least I could do for my favorite partner.” Ladybeetle got on his tippy-toes and gave his partner’s cheek a quick peck. Nothing too eyebrow-raising for Adrienne, but still notable. “You ready for patrol?”

Chat almost purred, nodding and shifting her weight. "Ready when you are, Bugaboo.” She took a sip of the cup and hummed in approval. _Yep, LB is on point as always._

Ladybeetle took the lead on the usual route, being sure to wait up for Chat. “Hey, so I was wondering. Have you ever thought about changing our route? Just by a little bit?”

Chat tilted her head a little bit, matching his pace. "Now and then. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering…if we could take a slight detour to the Agreste Mansion? You know, I know both Adrienne and Gabrielle have been Akuma targets, so I just thought it would be-hey, why’re you making that face?”

It was at this point that Adrienne noticed her look of shock and fear on her face. She blinked and then carefully schooled her expression into something more natural. More catlike. "Well, they’ve been Akuma targets, yes...but there are tons of others who have been Akuma targets as well. Remember Marin and the whole Nathalie getting Akumatized thing?”

Ladybeetle nodded. “You’re right, but I thought that some people are frequent targets-more targeted than others. Who should we make special detours? Clovis Bourgeois, the Agrestes, and...do you really want to go to Marin’s?” He gave a silent nod at Chat. “You’re getting soft on that guy now? Thank god you’ve finally moved on from me.”

"Shut up, you." Adrienne wrinkled her nose and nudged him playfully. "Marin's just a friend. He's a sweet guy, though, and I'd rather not see unnecessary harm come to anyone, especially not people I know." Her partner had always been more strict about the identity thing, but she was pretty sure that hinting she knew Marin in her civilian life wouldn't out her.

It didn’t matter either way, much to Adrienne’s relief-Ladybeetle didn’t seem to catch on. “That’s okay; I can understand that. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to...Adrienne, for instance. So just hit me up with a list, and I’ll try to come up with an edited route.”

 _That’s…what, the third time he's mentioned my name? I should nip this in the bud._ Adrienne opened her mouth to speak. "I can handle Adrienne's place easily. Besides, her mother has some sort of crazy security system, and I'm pretty sure, as great as you look in red-spotted spandex, that Gabrielle wouldn't be too happy if she noticed the extra attention to her mansion."

“Yeah, especially with wanting to be a designer in my civilian life...yeesh.”

Adrienne’s cat ears perked up. "Designing, huh, Bugaboo? I've heard that the fashion industry can be a bit rough.” Ladybeetle turned back to Chat with a smirk. “I think I’ve got what it takes. Besides, what would some alley cat know about the fashion world?”

You have no idea, bugboy. "You'd be surprised the kind of things that this alley cat picks up." She half-smirked at him, tilting her head and shifting her weight to one side as Ladybeetle raised his hands defensively. “Alright! Alright. What...do you do outside the mask? Like, if that doesn’t reveal too much.”

She nibbled one corner of her lip and tilted his head slightly. "Nah, it's a fair question. I do a lot....fencing, piano, tons more."

“Oh. Explains the baton, I guess. Probably a stupid question, but is the fencing and the piano like a job-job thing, or does it really make you happy?”

"It's fun, I guess, but it's mostly a job thing." The blonde shrugged, taking another sip of the coffee.

“Mmmm.” Ladybeetle took a last sweep of the area as he raised the coffee to his lips again. “Wow, is that it? Time flies when you’re having fun.” He turns to you. “Same time tomorrow, Chat?”

"I guess it does. See you then, bugboy." She nodded and hummed. "Or sooner if there's an Akuma attack, but I don't think any of us are hoping for that."

“Oh, come on, you seriously don’t want to see me sooner unless absolutely necessary?” Ladybeetle stood on his tippytoes once again. Expecting another kiss on the cheek, Adrienne lightly cocked her head, giving Ladybeetle some room for the shorter superhero. He bypassed her cheek entirely, giving her a full, rich kiss on the lips, pulling her head down slightly as he ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes, just letting herself fall into the kiss. Just when she wished that the moment would never end-it did.

“See you soon.” With that, Ladybeetle jumped off of the room, into the Paris night, leaving a very shocked Adrienne.

_GOOD JOB THERE LADYBEETLE. YOU BROKE YOUR PARTNER._

Adrienne managed a muffled squeak, not fully registering what was going on until he was gone and she was standing alone with a burning red face. The blonde raised a clawed hand to her lips, eyes shooting wide. It was a good minute or two before she even tried to get home.

* * *

 

Little did Chat Noire know, Ladybeetle was having no better of a time of it. “Tikki, spots off!” Ladybeetle detransformed into Marin Dupain-Cheng as he slammed into the bed, giving off a loud scream into his pillow. “Tikki!” The kwami flew off of her plate of cookies and rushed to her Chosen’s side. “Why did I do that?” Marin looked up and gave her a mopey look. “M-Marin! It’s okay!”

“It’s not! I messed up our entire relationship, Tikki! Now, what am I supposed to say when we next meet?”

“It’s not like she was completely disgusted by the kiss, Marin.”

“Yeah, but-I just-I just wanted to keep it professional. At least-at least until we defeated Hawkmoth.”

“All right. So is it a fair question to ask why you did it?” Marin narrowed his eyes at the Kwami; it was a fair question, but he didn’t quite want to answer it. “Um-I, uh-I don’t know. It really was a blur. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew what I thought I had to do.” Tikki tapped her small hand on her chin, deep in thought.

“Maybe you’re attracted to Chat Noire?”

“What?” Marin scratched his head. “I mean, she’s not…bad looking.”

“‘Not bad looking?’ That’s a little uncharitable if we’re talking about Chat Noire.” Marin finally broke. “Okay, okay! She’s…she’s really hot, okay? She is a beautiful girl in a skintight leather catsuit, and I’m a single sixteen-year-old boy. Skintight leather catsuit, Tikki! That’s like teenage boy kryptonite. What the heck was I supposed to do?”

“So you’re attracted to Chat Noire. Great! So…what’s the issue?” Marin raised a small finger to his desktop wallpaper, and Tikki noticed. “Oh. Right.” She settled onto the pillow next to him. “You know, it’s okay to like two girls at once, right? You’re still single. Adrienne and Chat fulfill different needs for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Adrienne is the girl next door, someone who you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with, a gentle, calming presence for you.” Marin raised an eyebrow. “How can she be a gentle and calming presence if she makes my heart rate go up every time she-“

“Let me finish. Adrienne is all that, but Chat Noire is an exciting presence for you who isn’t afraid to have fun once in a while. She acts with little regret, and you can be yourself around her with a minimal amount of judgment.” Marin sighed. “Thanks, Tikki, But I will have to choose between one of them sooner or later, won’t I?”

Tikki froze, remembering the fight with Dark Owl and what for all purposes almost became a reveal. “Well…let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, shall we? Sooner or later, like you said-hopefully later. What Adrienne and Chat Noire don’t know won’t hurt them, right? Just go to sleep!”

“Wait, Tikki-“  
“Go to sleep, Marin!”


	2. Chapter 2

Marin catapulted out of bed when his alarm went off, an explosion of sudden movement. He had all the energy in the world to burn right now, and thus remained a blur of energy as he got ready for school. Even then, most of his mind was still stuck on a constant loop of 'oh my god I kissed Chat Noir,' and the rest was just enough to get him through getting ready. He walked out of the door when he suddenly faced with a mass of blonde hair filling his entire field of view.

“Ah! Adrienne!” Said mass of blonde hair suddenly materialized in Marin’s face, about to run the poor boy over. “Why are you walking? Wait, the school’s that way!”

"Oh, sorry!" She squeaked, snapping back to normality and shooting Marin an apologetic smile. "My head's a little bit up in the clouds right now, I'm so sorry, Marin!"

Marin regained his composure and dropped his voice by an entire octave-something he only did around people who he was trying to impress. “Uh...huh. Mind telling me what’s going on? Do you, uh-need to sit down?”

"No, no, I'm fine. A close friend of mine just...did something I wasn't expecting." Her cheeks reddened, and she rubbed the back of her neck. "I still can't believe it really happened."

“Oh! Uh-did he hurt you? Are you alright?”

"No, he didn't...quite the opposite, actually. I'm fine, but thank you, Marin."

Marin leaned against the outer wall of the shop and gave off something of a smirk in an attempt to look cool. “Oh. What exactly did this mystery person do?”

Adrienne blushed brightly and ducked her head, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Well...he kind of…kissed me." _Wait, what?_ She shifted her weight. "It's not unwanted, or anything, because I like him. It’s weird, though-about five minutes before that he was teasing me about liking someone else.”

Marin’s first impulse was to groan. However, if you heard closely enough at Marin’s groan, you could hear Verdi’s ‘Dies Irae.’ Marin’s heart sunk to new depths unknown to modern engineering at incalculable speeds currently undiscovered by modern physics. He suddenly became what could only be described as a nervous wreck, but he was a nervous wreck who was somehow still able to maintain a smile. “Oh. That’s…nice. So you, uh-you like this guy, huh? That’s-that’s cool.” Not only did Adrienne get kissed by this guy, but she _liked_ it. That was the worst part!

“Y-yeah." She smiled a little and shifted her weight. "I have no idea what that meant to him, if it even meant anything. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would just kiss me out of nowhere, but he really hasn't shown any interest in me before this." Her smile turned into a frown, and she fidgeted with her hands nervously. "I'm sorry for bothering you with this. It's just feelings drama."

“Oh no, Adrienne. Not bothered at all.” In reality, Marin was extremely bothered. And he was having plenty of feelings drama of his own. “Who-who was the guy that this-this guy-was teasing you about?”

She nibbled her lip and shot him a far more sheepish smile. “He was actually teasing me about you, believe it or not." She admitted, shifting her weight. "The subject of Akuma attacks came up, and I mentioned how you'd been the target of Nathalie.”

Marin huffed to himself. “Not sure you’d remember that…yeah, and I mean, he must have been joking about that, wasn’t he?” Marin hoped, _prayed_ that he was doing an excellent job of hiding his immense disappointment.

Adrienne squirmed a little in place and nibbled the corner of her lip. "I have no idea. I'm just...kind of confused." Kind of was an understatement. She wasn't sure if she should be swooning or screaming, considering the love of her life had kissed her and left without an explanation. But she couldn’t help but notice a feeling of guilt digging at the back of her head. It could have something to do with the fact that Marin looked very upset at this very moment.

“Well, I’m not confused at all. You like this guy, he kissed you-why don’t you just date him?” She winced in surprise at Marin’s tone of voice but nodded slowly, frowning and pulling at the hem of her shirt. Marin, for his own part, was shocked at his own temper, which was shorter than he expected. _Okay, maybe I raised my voice a quarter of a decibel?_ But what really made him guilty was how scared Adrienne looked. Marin opened his mouth to apologize. “I’m sorry, it’s been kind of a rough morning for me.” Kind of was an understatement. “I should go to class. I’m glad you’re happy.” With that, Marin spun on his heel and starts to walk away.

What the hell is going on? Ladybeetle was almost making out with her without notice or explanation, Marin was dealing with something and seemed to be kind of taking out on her…She groaned as she and Marin parted ways. Why did she dump all that on her friend? He was right about her just dating Ladybeetle, or would have been if there wasn't the topic of identities and everything. She walked up the steps of the school right on Marin's heels.  _What am I going to do?_


	3. Chapter 3

After school, Adrienne cast a guilty glance down at the dark-haired form of Marin as he left. She groaned softly, running her hands through her hair again, and slipped from the school. She went home, claiming exhaustion and locking her bedroom door to go to bed. The blonde then transformed, hopping out her window to go and see what was up with Marin. When she landed on his balcony, she could hear music coming out of his loft: “ _The rain falls hard on a humdrum town/This town will drag you down/Oh the rain falls hard on a humdrum down/This town will drag you down…_ ”

She remembered the song. It was an old Britsh song from the eighties, and she recognized it because her father had played it to her once, claiming it always helped him whenever he was heartbroken during his time at Collegé. She winced, cat ears drooping a little as the blonde knocked gently upon his trapdoor to alert the boy of her presence. “Come on in.”

She entered his loft. As in almost every instance she went to his place, she found him sketching a new design on his bed. Marin looked up at her, giving her a sad grin. “Cookies are on me, you know where to get them.”

Adrienne dropped down onto his bed beside him, curling an arm around his shoulders. "Yeah, I do, but I'm more concerned with you than I am with sweets. What's up?"

He tried to act nonchalant, as he reaches to pause his Spotify playlist. “ _Would you like to marry me? And if you like, you can buy the ring/She doesn’t care about_ anythi _-_ “ Once that was paused, Marin looked up at her, trying to put on a brave face. “I’m…fiiiiiine. What’s wrong?”

"You look down. I'm not stupid." She pointed out, raising one brow and shifting to settle in a half-sitting half-leaning position.

Marin gave a slight smirk. “It’s girl problems. Not that you’d want to know about it.” He does let out a hint, starting to ramble, which he was often wont to do when he was upset. “I mean, it’s kind of my fault. I should have known I wasn’t good enough for her. What was I thinking?”

"Marin?" She asked softly after a moment. Something sunk like a stone in her chest and she had a feeling she already knew what was going on, especially mentioning the 'girl problems.'

Marin looked up at Chat with glassy, bleary eyes. “What? I’ve told you what’s wrong.”

Her cat ears flattened down to the top of her head, and the blonde gently put one of her hands over his. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

“I don’t know. Does your suit come with mind-control powers? Don’t answer that.” There’s another sad pause. “Just stay if you want, you might want to be on the lookout for evil purple butterflies.” Marin shrugged. “I mean, I guess I should have learned my place when dealing with...you know.”

"Marin." Her cat ears flicked atop her head, raising back into a somewhat normal position. "Stop being so hard on yourself. You're a good person and whatever girl ended up rejecting you is missing out." The blonde's belt-tail swung and curled behind her as she shifted in place to take one of his hands gently in her own.

Marin cuddled into her embrace, assuming the position of the small spoon as he leaned into her frame. “Yeah, maybe you’re right, Chat. So what if Adrienne doesn’t like me?” This gave Chat pause.

"Adrienne, huh?" _Yep, that explains the out-of-nowhere guilt. Yep, I’m an idiot. Looking back on it…how didn’t I see the signs? Still, it’s going to be hard letting him down._ "The model? She's your classmate, isn't she?" She hadn't known that Marin had feelings for her, and definitely wouldn't have talked to him about the kiss if she'd known.

“Yeah. Her.” He scowled. “I mean, she spends a lot of time around guys who are paid to be attractive. No wonder I can’t compare.” He looked up at you. “Right, sorry. It’s just-I can’t help but feel bad, you know?”

“Don't apologize, Marin. I know better than most people." The cat agreed with a little nod. "It's okay to feel bad about stuff like this. I used to do it all the time when LB shot me down. It's natural, don't worry about it."

“Yeah-Wait. You felt bad when he shot you down? I thought you were just joking when you said you flirted with him. I thought that was...you know, fun and games.”

She shrugged a little. "I'm not. I've kind of learned to deal with it by now, though. Pretty much everyone in Paris thinks I'm just a meaningless flirt, LB included. I guess there are worse things to be.” Marin, with this new information, suddenly sprang out of the little spoon position, turning around to look up at the superheroine. “Wait, wait, wait-you actually had feelings for him? You like liked him?”

"Yep. Still do.” She bit back a groan at last night at whatever that meant to her partner. “I mean, it’s not like that’s uncommon. You’d be surprised, I bet a lot of girls like Ladybeetle. He’s cute.” Marin’s ears perked up as he motioned for Chat to go on.

"Go on."

“If you’ll let me geek out for a minute, I’d say that Ladybeetle’s got Damian Wayne’s face, Tim Drake’s brain, Jason Todd’s abs, and Dick Grayson’s butt.” She got lost in a dreamy haze for a second, her teeth fully clamped down as she gave a breathy chuckle, before whipping back to Marin. “Sorry about that.”

Marin blushed a little bit, feeling his cheeks flush a little bit. “It’s all right.” _Flattering, even._ “And how do you think he feels towards you?”

"I have no idea how he feels, though. I thought I did, but-”

“-but what?”

She felt her face heat up thinking about the kiss, running one hand through her hair. "He kissed me. And then ran off."

Oh, fuck, right. That happened. Marin bit back a response that would have blown his cover. “That’s...weird. Maybe he was calling your bluff in terms of flirting, maybe? And, I mean-you’re an attractive teenage girl in a skintight leather catsuit, what guy wouldn’t want to kiss you?”

She frowned and gave off a light, slow sigh. "I guess you're right. I didn't really think he'd go that far just to prove I was flirting meaninglessly, though." If he had…well, there went any hope she had. "That also works to explain stuff...Ugh." Things were getting way too complicated. LB was usually such a gentleman, and then suddenly this whole kiss thing came around.

“So here we go. You’re confused by a frankly really questionable decision your crush made, I’m bawling like a baby because a literal supermodel won’t date me-we’re really messed up, huh?” He looked up at her and smiled.

She chuckled, tilting her head and blinking back at him with feline green eyes. "I guess we are. But that's love, huh? Sometimes it's the best thing ever, and then the next moment it's screwing up everything."

“Yeah...Hey, is Dr. Noire’s therapy session over yet, or do you need some more cuddles? Cause I think I’m feeling better. And...and I think I have a plan.”

"As nice as cuddles are for the both of us, I think it would be good to call the cat therapy to a close and hear that plan of yours.”

“You want to hear it?”

“Sure.”

Marin got up and sat on the desk chair, opposite from Chat. “I mean, it’s pretty clear that this guy, whoever he is, is being kind of dodgy, playing some kind of weird game. Maybe I just have to be direct, but not in a way that leaves me out in the open, where she can rip my heart out for good.” She hummed, propping herself up with one arm. “You sound like Ladybeetle during a firefight. Don’t worry. This is just confessing to your crush.”

“And that’s so much easier?” Chat let out a loud, clear, laugh. “I didn’t say that. Still, how are you planning to do it? Being direct and indirect at the same time?” Marin winked at her. “Let’s just say I’ve got a plan for that. I have a small trump card up my sleeve, and if Adrienne isn’t impressed by it, then I guess she really doesn’t like me.”

“Huh. I’m excited to see it.” Chat heard a beep on her baton and picked it up to see that she was due for a photo shoot in half-an-hour. “Whelp. Duty calls. See you later, Marin?”

“Y-yeah. See you later. Marin got up and saw his partner out, watching as she finally left, leaving the coast clear for him to think. “So, a lot of girls like Ladybeetle, huh?” Tikki flew out of Marin’s pocket, looking scandalized. She knew what he was thinking. “Marin, no.”

“Marin, yes.”

“Marin, this is really dangerous.”

“Tikki-is this the most dangerous thing that any Ladybeetle has done, ever?”

“Well-no. But to impress a girl? Definitely.”

“Well, maybe past Ladybeetles haven't been very romantic.” Tikki let out an anguished groan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are wondering, the song that Marin is playing was "William, It Was Really Nothing" by The Smiths.
> 
> And if Adrien is a weeb, then Adrienne is totally a superhero nerd.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, a reveal, and just a hint of sin for garnish.

Marin had barely transformed into Ladybeetle before springing out of his house opening his comms unit and calling in Chat Noir while making a beeline to somewhere very specific. “Chat. I’m going to the Agreste Mansion. You can’t stop me, I’m going to do something pretty damn dumb.”

"You're going where?" _Well, crap._ Adrienne sprang into action, leaving their usual rendezvous point for patrol. She had to get to the Agreste mansion first, because if Adrienne was suspiciously missing..."What are you going to do?” Her baton crackled to life again. “Please bear with me. I’m not going to hurt anyone...at least, I hope.”

She agreed after a moment, getting rapidly closer to her house. "Let's just scratch off that 'I hope' bit and say no one's gonna be hurt.”

“Great!” Marin arrived at the Agreste Mansion, going straight to Adrienne’s room. “Adrienne?” Marin couldn’t see Adrienne. At the very least, she wasn't in her room. That’s because five seconds before he entered, she landed in her bedroom, ran into her bathroom, and quickly dropped her transformation to come out of her bathroom right that moment to feign surprise at the sight of the scarlet-clad superhero in her room. "Um...Ladybeetle?"

Marin’s heart stopped in his throat. He didn’t know he was going to get this far. “Uh...Adrienne. I’m...um...I’m here for you. I mean, I’m here for Marin Dupain-Cheng? Like, I’m here to give a message. If that makes any sense at all.”

A message from Marin, brought by Ladybeetle? Interesting. "Marin? Is he alright? I....noticed he was a little bit upset this morning." The blonde moved out of her restroom and closed the door behind her, stepping a little closer to the red-clad hero.

“He was. And...it was for a good reason? Listen, let’s just say he was...he was hurt by your story of last night. He really likes you, Adrienne.”

She pretended to be surprised again, eyes shooting wide. "Marin likes me? God, I should have known that. And then I kind of rubbed the fact I like someone else in his face. I...would tell Marin who I liked if I could, but a lot of things would end up happening at once, and I think it would only hurt him worse."

“Well, you could tell me. I wouldn’t tell him, you know. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.” Ladybeetle walked over to Adrienne and held her hands in his. “Remember Jacady? You trusted me then. Please trust me now.”

"I do trust you, Ladybeetle. But I can't tell anyone." _Especially not you_ , she added in her head, blinking at him and trying not to blush, which she ultimately failed as her cheeks took on a rosy hue. The blonde mentally smacked herself. Ladybeetle had no feelings for Adrienne Agreste, and she had no excuse for liking him. Ladybeetle cocked his head, noticing the red peeking out on Adrienne’s face.

“Adrienne? You okay? You’re getting an allergic reaction. Maybe swap out your makeup remover?”

“Huh?”

“You look like you’re blushing, that’s all.”

"O-oh, yeah, allergic reaction. I'll talk to mother about it." She tried to quit blushing without seeming too suspicious, moving to meet her partner's eyes.

Marin looked up at Adrienne and grinned. “Hey, you know-I know I’m not supposed to use my powers like this, but, uh-Lucky Charm!” He threw his yo-yo up into the air, and a single red rose fell into his hand. He offered the rose to Adrienne. “I’ve been practicing Lucky Charm. Guess I can actually control what I can make. Do you like it?”

She took the rose carefully, blinking at it in surprise. She had to play dumb and focus on the rose as if not meeting his eyes would help with the blush burning at her face. "It's lovely. So you don't control what the Lucky Charm gives you normally?" Adrienne asked quietly after a moment. Playing dumb was good.

Marin scratched his head. “Not previously, I guess. It takes practice. But I think I can now.” He looked up and grinned at her, before looking down at the rose, and then back up to her eyes. “You know, I wonder what Marin would say about me giving you a rose. I don’t think he’d be too happy about it.”

"No, he probably wouldn't be." She held the rose tenderly in both of her hands, "Then I have to ask, why did you? Especially if he’s is the one who sent you?” Marin smirked.

“Tikki, spots off.” Adrienne gaped at him for a moment. “…Marin?"

He grinned. “I figured if being Ladybeetle wouldn’t impress you then nothing would.”

She stared dead at him before smacking herself in the face. "You told me you were going to do something dumb, Mr. We-can't-share-our-identities, but this is on a new level!” She shook her head, then flung both arms out. "You got yourself so worked up over _nothing_ , you stupid bug! You were the one who kissed me last night, damn it.”

It’s his turn to gape now. “Woah, woah, woah. Chat Noir?”

"Plagg!" She called for her transformation and then went back to speak to him even as a bright green light flashed over her form, before advancing on Marin, the head-taller superhero intimidating and strangely arousing Marin. "You were prepared to tell a civilian your identity in order to impress her as opposed to telling your partner. That's a huge risk, and I'm supposed to be the reckless one!” Marin’s face grew hot.

“Well, pardon me for falling in love with you! Maybe it’s just a guy thing, but I can’t control who I have a crush on! And I assumed it was some dumb male model that you went for because there’s no way you’d date plain, boring old Marin!” He paused. “Sorry.”

Chat Noir's cat ears flattened to the top of her head. "Are you serious? Listen to me, you dumb bug, us girls? We don't get to pick and choose either. That doesn't mean I'd go and take huge risks like this." She shook her head and rubbed at her temples with one hand, the other still holding the rose. "Let's just...not have this argument right now."

“So what else do we do? Is this you formally rejecting me?” Marin started to walk away, turning his back to Adrienne. “Spare me the ‘you’re a great guy’ speech. If that’s the case, I can see myself out.” _Is he really that blockheaded?_ Adrienne watched as Marin started to walk away, sneaking glances at his butt despite the situation. And it’s then that she made her decision: her lucky charm isn’t getting away from her that easily. Not today.

She stormed up to him, grabbing onto the boy's face with one clawed hand and smashing her lips briefly against his before pulling apart. "You're an idiot, but you're my idiot, and you're not going anywhere yet."

And just like that, a sudden change came upon Marin, almost like he knew that he had what he came for, what he wanted. He knew he was safe, he knew he had made it. He got more confident, completely abandoning his sense of defeat in favor of something better, something that Adrienne saw a cocky yet strangely arousing. “I like the way you think, princess.”

His mouth curled into a smile and he bit his lip. “What did you have in mind? And…before we do whatever you have in mind, your kwami doesn’t have to be a part of this. Detransform. I want to see your real eyes.”

"We should probably at least talk about this, whatever this is.” She gestured vaguely at herself and then at him, then tilted her head slightly, but obeyed the command and dropped her transformation. Plagg wrinkled his nose a little and flew away from the two holders.

Marin sat on Adrienne’s bed, gladly accepting her hand. “So...” He gave a short gulp. “You liked me as Ladybeetle, but I liked you as Adrienne. I made out with you on a whim when I was Ladybeetle, and you told me about it without naming names, and then I went on a pity-party which turned into this...thing. Any questions?”

Adrienne tilted her head just slightly, blinking bright green eyes at her partner. "I think that covers most of it. The one question I have is what's going to happen next." Which is probably the hardest question right now. Adrienne blinked at him again and tapped her fingers against the bedspread.

“There’s this Mecha Strike tournament next Saturday. I have two tickets, but Alain can’t go that day.” Marin then proceeded to give Adrienne the eyes. The puppy-dog eyes that he always gave her unintentionally whenever she walked into the room before, but now was using it to full effect. “Can you make it?”

"I can probably manage to wriggle away from Mother for a little while." She tapped one finger on her chin in thought, melting internally from those eyes but determined not to let it show.

“Glad to hear it. So...” Marin walked up to Adrienne and sat down next to her, looking at her ever so sweetly. “What are we? I think I want to hear you say it.”

She half-smirked, quirking one brow. "Well, we're a lot of things. We're partners, classmates, friends.” She was purposely ignoring what he wanted to hear.

Marin gave her the eyes once again, placing a hand on the other side of her while placing a kiss on her lips. “Care to add ‘lovers’ to that list, princess?”

"I don't know, I think I might need a little more convincing, Lucky Charm." She teased, not caring to think about the logistics of things just yet and contented to play around for a little while.

“Aren’t you precious.” She hummed in agreement, tipping her head slightly toward one side. With what can only be described as a growl, she gently pushed him back onto the bed, peppering his neck and chin with kisses. “Do you mind if I leave a token of my affection?”

He only gave an airy moan as the affirmative response, and she moved in, her singsong hum laced with what had to be a purr. Marin tilted his head back just a little bit, face warm but the rest of him basking in the affection.

She decided to leave a mark in the space between the clavicle and the shoulder-bone, right where the flesh curves inward a bit. “Tell me how you feel about me, my prince. I want to hear you say it.”

Marin couldn’t complete that request, only able to give small winces of pleasure at her kissing and nipping. For all his confidence three minutes ago, he couldn't seem to put his money where his mouth was. He bit back his lip to bite back a garbled sound of appreciation, loosely looping his arms around her waist as she looked down at him. "My Lord." Adrienne purred to him, as she moved her lips up from his clavicle to his neck, intending to press another hickey against his scruff. "My Prince." Hers. But...

"Yes, Adrienne?" Adrienne looked down at Marin, her eyes piercing into his as she lowered herself onto him, whispering into his ear. "I want you to do something for me."

" _Anything_." Marin's reply was rapid and immediate.

Adrienne got off of him, placing her hand on his. "Get the hell out of my house."


	5. Chapter 5

“What the heck?” Marin gently pushed aside Adrienne as he sat up. She made no move to stop him. “Wha-why? What’s wrong?” She just stared at him, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Marin, Mare-bear-did you think that this would be that easy?” _Crap. I did._ He scootched over to the edge of the bed and just stared at the wall. “I don’t-I didn’t-“

“You play with my feelings. You get mad when I show even the slightest hint of affection towards another guy-never mind that that other guy happened to be you. You don’t give a crap when I bring up the fact that Chat Noir had a crush on Ladybeetle for ages. You make the sudden impulse decision to out yourself as Ladybug to me-jeez, Marin, what if I was Hawkmoth? What then?” Marin thought to himself. _Then I’d probably give you the earrings right then and there, to be honest._ “So…we’re not doing the Mecha Strike thing?” Adrienne audibly sighed behind him. “What? No. Marin, get your head out of your dick. No, we’re not doing it. At least, you can go alone.”

“So you don’t love me.”

“Are you kidding? Marin, I’m crazy about you. Yes, it’s Ladybeetle-you, but…” She walked up to him as he sank back from her touch. “But maybe I can fall for Marin as well. But after the last forty-eight hours, I’m not so sure. I need to think things over.” Marin whipped around to face Adrienne, his eyes widening before he picked his next words. “So…well what was that? Back there? You-I-with the hickey…what gives you the right to play with my feel-“ He slapped a hand over his mouth. She gave him the perfect bait, and he took it. She pounced on his last word. “Are you really asking that right now? You asking me about playing with feelings?”

“That’s different, I didn’t know you liked me when I kissed you last night. You knew that I liked you when you gave me hickey just now.” She paused; he had a point. “And furthermore, I had _no_ idea that you were Chat Noir last night. You knew I was Ladybeetle when you kissed me just now. So doesn’t that just prove my point?”

“What poi-“

“No way you’d be attracted to plain, boring old Marin.” He bit the back of his lip a small bit, before standing up. “Tikki, spots on!” Once transformed, he turned back to Adrienne. Adrienne saw that Marin’s eyes were beginning to get glassy. He wiped away at them with an arm. “I was right, wasn’t I? I had to be a superhero to get your attention.” He started to walk to the window before Adrienne cut him off. “Are you calling me shallow?”

“Not-not really?” Marin changed his gaze at Adrienne, changing his answer as well. “Yeah.”

Adrienne exploded. “Look who’s talking! Yeah, if you had to be a superhero to get my attention, then I guess I had to be a literal model to get yours!” _Wait, does she think-?_ Adrienne gave a short, cruel laugh. “Oh my god, I’m right, aren’t I? Oh my god, I thought you-and let’s be clear here, I thought Marin-was different. What, do you have to have at least half a million Instagram followers for the great Marin Dupain-Cheng to consider you for girlfriend material?”

She paused, maybe to give Marin respite, maybe to collect her thoughts for another barrage. “I mean, it’s not surprising, and I guess it’s a little better than most. I mean, most guys are only after my looks. You’re after my looks, and my money, and the follower count, and the connections that a daughter of Gabrielle Agreste can bring you. I’m not surprised at all. I even gotta give you some credit.” Ladybeetle just stood there, leaning against Adrienne’s window panels. “Are you done?” She was.

“Y-yeah.”

“Do you remember the day we first met?”

“How could I not?”

“Then you’d remember I didn’t care about that, Adrienne. I didn’t care how hot you were, or how many followers you had, or whose daughter you were. I thought that you were one of Clovis’s asshole friends, and I acted accordingly. I mean-yeah, you being you, it’s a plus, don’t get me wrong. But when I see you, I remember the girl who gave me her umbrella that day after school.”

Marin walked up to Adrienne. His eyes were devoid of anger or any emotion except a faint one resembling hope. She took a step back. “You lost your dad, Adrienne. You lost your mom in some ways, too. You never had a childhood, or even a group of friends until a few years ago. You should be so _angry_ at the world for all it’s done to you. But you aren’t. You took one good, hard, cold look at the world, and said: ‘That’s fine. I’ll still fight for you.’ And that’s why I fell for you. And you being Chat Noire? That only enhances my feelings.” She reached out for his chest, but Marin backed away, walking back for the open window. “Marin, wait!”

He moved up to the window, climbing on its perch, extending his yo-yo. “Marin, I just wanted to say that I’m glad it’s-“ Too late. Marin was gone. “…You.”

Adrienne sat back down on her bed, backing up against the adjacent wall. She opened a cabinet on her bedside table and took out a small remote. The girl pressed a button on her remote, and the window closed back down. She backed against the wall, pushing her legs to her chest as Plagg flew back out of the pillow, slowly rubbing his head. “I’m going to need some extra camembert for this one. Actually, wait-make it Stilton. I need the stuff that hits.”

“Not now, Plagg.” Plagg paused, hovering in front of his chosen’s face. “You need sleep.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Doesn’t mean that’s not the case. Listen, Plagg, suit up, I’ve got to go to Marin’s house right now-“

“That’s not the best idea, Adrienne.” Plagg cocked his head to one side, cracking what appeared to be a neck bone if he even had one. “Sorry about this.”

“What are you doing-“ Plagg flew into the forehead of his chosen. Adrienne felt a wave of sleep pass over her, falling onto her bed, her head landing onto the pillow, her eyes slowly closing shut.

* * *

 

While Adrienne was drifting off to sleep, Marin-as Ladybeetle-was very much awake. He wasn’t aware that he was able to run this fast.

He was fifty meters from the house-he reached out with his hand, and sprung up into the air, landing his hands on the top of a row of chimneys. He leaped up and threw himself back onto the roof, falling with a controlled roll to the ground. He picked himself up. He heard Tikki’s voice inside his head. _Marin._

Thirty meters now-he leaped off of the roof, landing on the ground. He didn’t anticipate with another roll, landing on the ground shoulder first. He let out a low roar of pain as he stood up and leaned against a lamppost. The suit could tank a lot of damage-a fall of ten meters was nothing for Tikki-but it still stung. _Marin, I know you can hear me._ Marin ignored her. He kept walking across the street, to the bakery. Twenty meters, and then a climb. _Marin, you’re hurt._

 _“_ S-shut up.” Marin threw his yo-yo up the side of the building and felt it catch on the balcony. He tested the strength of the yo-yo-strange, since he and Chat- _he and Adrienne_ -had tested the upper limits of the yo-yo, and still hadn’t found the maximum weight it could take-but he needed to be sure. He was so unsure about everything. He put his feet on the cold glass of the closed bakery, pulling himself up by the rope. He gritted his teeth, and he didn’t dare make the climb-especially with a hurt shoulder. He felt the pain spread to his chest and bit down on his lip to ease the pain. Finally. Three meters and he jumped over the balcony railing, landing hurt shoulder-first onto the hardwood deck.

He found himself panting, and his heart racing. But there was no more movement. Typically, he would have calmed down by now. He edged himself against the wall, propping his knees up against his chest, sitting down with his arms wrapped around his legs.

Still no calm, still a heart racing, still out of breath. Marin tried to take in a deep breath. _Marin_ But no deep breath came, _Marin_ and his heart was still racing. He tried taking another deep breath, but _Marin_ no deep breath came, and it was like his whole throat was plugged up or that his lungs were filled with a fluid or webbing, and his heart was still _Marin_ pounding in its chest and he removed his hands from his chest to see them matted with sweat and _Marin_ he saw from the corner of his eye a flash of light surround him, feeling the magical protection of the miraculous fade away, _and why didn't that work why did I do that that was stupid I knew I didn’t deserve her-_

 _“_ Marin!” Marin looked up, his cheek streaked with tears, his eyes filled with fluid. He wiped them away again. “T-tikki?”

“You need to calm down. Take deep breaths.” Tikki looked down at Marin’s pocket. “I’ll allow it if it’ll help you calm down.” Marin looked confused for a second, before he fumbled his cold and clammy hands for his pocket, taking out what looked to be a small black rectangle with a small glowing white light at the end of it. He put one end in his mouth, and took in a deep breath, feeling the calming, warm steam flow down his throat. When it felt too hot for him, he took the pen out of his mouth, stifling a cough when he let a small bit of steam out. Tikki had a look of pure motherly worry across her face. “Is this your first panic attack?” Marin failed to meet her eyes.

“Y-yeah. My first one in a while, anyways.” Marin looked out to the side, to the city. “You need to sleep.”

“I need to go back.”

“No, you don’t unless you want another panic attack.” Tikki sat down on Marin’s kneecap. “Does she really mean that much to you?” Marin didn’t answer. “Tikki…I’m still safe, right? I mean, every Ladybug and Chat Noir gets together, right? It’s fate.”

Tikki was silent. “Tikki?”

“Do you want the real answer or what you want to hear?” Marin gave Tikki a withering look. Tikki sighed. “Not…exactly. It’s more of a strong statistical correlation over the centuries. Even factoring out Ladybugs and Chat Noirs who were blood-related, there’ve been a fair few who didn’t get together. Your love life isn’t set in stone with Adrienne.” Marin rested his head against the wall. The last hope he had with Adrienne had been dashed. “I’m sorry, Marin.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?” Marin softly banged his head against the wall again, and again, and once more, for the final time. “I’m so stupid.”

“Marin. It…yeah. It could have gone better.”

“Don’t tell me. I should have listened to you.” Of all the reveals that Tikki had been a party to, this had not been the best. “Marin…you need rest.”

“No, I can’t-I can’t rest. Not like that.” There was another long pause. “Adrienne is Chat Noire.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Adrienne read American comic books? Yes.  
> Does Marin watch RuPaul's Drag Race, and is he the only straight guy to do so? Yes, and probably.  
> Can either of them discuss their feelings in a productive, healthy manner? What do you think?

_Adrienne is Chat Noire._ Wasn’t that a doozy? They had kissed. They had cuddled. They had confided in each other their hopes and fears. Chat Noire-no, Adrienne-had her first glass of wine in Marin’s house. Oh god, she’d even seen his desktop wallpaper!

“Marin.”

“No, Tikki, I don’t want to-“

“Marin, your phone!” Marin looked down and checked his phone, to see it glowing and buzzing. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw it was Alain. “Hey.”

“Mare-bear! Hey, what’s up?”

“Uh…” Marin looked at Tikki, who was tapping her foot on his knee, one eyebrow raised in expectation. “It’s been pretty good.” Tikki pinched Marin’s knee. “Ow!”

“What was that?”

“Oh, uh-nothing, nothing! Just-“ Marin glared at Tikki. “Stubbed my toe.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“So what’s up?”

“Two things, bud. First of all, the leadership meeting on Monday after Spring Break. You all clear on that?” Marin groaned. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Yeah, I know, Monsieur Bustier is gonna be on our ass to make up a big social event by the end of the year, that’s gonna be a hassle.” There’s a long pause. “Marin?”

“Yeah, yeah. The meeting. I totally got that.”

“Marin, this is totally gonna sound weird of me, but you’re…breathing weird? I don’t know, and I don’t like it. Have you been crying?” Tikki glared at Marin with a look that can only be described as _tell him, you doofus_. “Uh…nah. No. I’m good. Just getting over allergies.”

“Oh, shit, man, that blows. Yeah, I may or may not be getting over that myself.”

“What did you want to tell me second of all?”

“Oh, yeah, that. So…I’m going to that Klimt Exhibition at the Orsay, do you want to go?” Marin steeled himself. This could totally be a weird effort for Alain to hook him up with Adrienne. “Which…friends would these be?”

“Oh, just Ross and Juleka, and I. They invited me to go on Wednesday, and I don’t want to be a third-wheel. You down?” Marin sighed. “Okay, promise me you aren’t inviting Adrienne without telling me?”

“What? No! Wait, why aren’t you okay with Adrienne, you aren’t stuttering around her again, are you?”

“Well, uh-let’s just say we’re not as hot as before. I guess we need our space.” There was a loud wolf-whistle from the other end of the line. Marin cringed and removed the phone from his ear painfully. “Ow!”

“So you’re not even dating yet, and you’re already fighting? Wow, that HAS to be some sort of record.” There’s a pause. “Sorry.”

“What? No, that was fine. Actually, pretty funny. Yeah, no, I think I can! I can totally do it! Yeah, definitely.” Marin smoothed his hair back and smiled for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. It would take things off his mind.

* * *

“Ugh, what do I tell him?” Adrienne was staring at her phone, her Snapchat open and her camera front-facing. She frowned as she stared back at her reflection on the screen. “What do I even say? ‘ _Hello_ ’? ‘ _Screw you_ ’? ‘ _My feelings only got deeper for you_ ’? ‘Get over here so I can kill you’?” Plagg sat on the bed frame, a piece of Jarlsberg in between his teeth. “You’re going over it far too much. Just let things happen when they happen. If you rush the curdling, you’ve got too much whey.” Adrienne narrowed her eyes at Plagg. “What? It’s a cheese metaphor.”

“Everything’s a cheese metaphor with you, Plagg.” Adrienne frowned and turned back to her phone, making a small frustrated duck face before throwing her phone with a groan at her bed. “Okay, so…do you like Marin now?” Adrienne sat up.

“I mean, like-Marin’s not bad looking, for a someone who's only, like, one-seventy centimeters.” A head shorter than Adrienne’s one seventy-eight. “And he was pretty chill. I mean, he acted like I had a giant spider on my face until a few months ago, and now we’re gonna be back at square one.” She hid half her face under her pillow, her eyes glaring daggers at Plagg in thought. “And yet…first thing I do when I see him, we get to test out what Cataclysm does to a person. Oh, what would Selina do?”

“Well, Selina and Bruce are getting married right around now. You and Marin haven’t even gone on a date.” Adrienne turned her head at Plagg again and made a face. “I…may or may not have been reading your stash?” Adrienne rolled her eyes, lying down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, when she head a knock on the other side of the room. _Nathaniel._ She jumped to her feet, looking expectantly at the door. No, she recognized those knocks. They weren’t Nathaniel’s slow and reassuring knocks, they were light raps, more like-“Come in, Mother.”

If there was one thing that Adrienne inherited from her mother, it was her height. One such reason that Gabrielle Agreste was able to operate in such the male-dominated landscape of fashion was the fact that she stood at an imposing one-eighty. Her short blonde bob was graying at the roots, and she made no effort to hide it. Her steely glare kept Adrienne rooted to the spot. “Adrienne. Darling.”

The small hint of affection sent shivers down Adrienne’s spine. “Hello, mother.” Gabrielle walked over to Adrienne and sat on the bed, next to where Adrienne was standing. Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “At ease, Private Agreste.” Adrienne, as if on cue, relaxed before sitting next to her mother. “What is it, mother?” Gabrielle placed her hand on Adrienne’s. “No doubt you’ve heard of the Klimt Exhibit?”

“N-no, as a matter of fact, I haven’t.”

“Well, it’s at the Orsay, at I’d like to invite you to come with me. No bodyguard, no art history tutor, just the two of us. Mother and daughter.” Adrienne smiled. Finally, after weeks of not having any quality time with her mother, now was her chance to reconnect. “Y-yes, of course! How come now, of all times, though?” Gabrielle gave a small ghost of a smile. “Your father. Klimt was his favorite artist. The painting of him and I in my office-that’s in Klimt’s style.”

“Oh. Yeah, of course.” Adrienne shook her head. “Uh-when did you want to go?”

“I know it’s your spring break-how does Wednesday sound to you?” Adrienne nodded quickly. “Y-yeah, that should be fine!” Gabrielle leaned in and smelled Adrienne’s hair, giving her a kiss on the side of the head. “Good. See you then, Adrienne.” Adrienne laid down on her bed, smiled for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. It would take things off her mind.

* * *

“Ross! Juleka!” Marin and Alain walked up to the couple. Ross, standing at one fifty-two centimeters with a short pink scarf draped around his neck, was quite a contrast with his boyfriend, who stood at almost a full meter taller than him. “Hey, hun! Get your ass over here!” Ross pulled Marin and Alain into a bear hug. “Hey, how are you guys?”

“We’re doing good, Mare-bear! I mean, I’m getting so fucking FAT on your mom and dad’s cooking, but…” Ross grinned, before letting his grin fall and his eyes widen. “Bro, did you see that last All-Stars episode?”

“Dude!” Marin’s eyes widened. He hadn’t, but Reddit was too full of spoilers for him to escape who actually won. “Thank GOD Trixie got the crown, can you imagine if-“

“Yeah, I know! After they did Shangela dirty like that, I was like, ‘Mmmm, huntie, I swear to god if Y'all let Trixie fuck up-’“ Alain nudged into Marin. “Dude, you guys can fanboy about RuPaul’s Drag Race inside, this weather’s giving even me a sunburn, think about Juleka for a second.” Juleka gave a smile. “Thanks, Alain.”

They all walked in, and Alain leaned into Marin’s ear. “Also, don’t look behind you-noo.” Too late-Marin already had turned his head about to see Adrienne and Gabrielle Agreste, walking together. Adrienne’s smile seemed to split her face in two, and Gabrielle even had a small grin of her own. “You going to talk to her?” Marin bit his lip. “Nah.”

“Dude, she seems pretty happy, you should-“

“And that’s exactly why I shouldn’t.” Alain’s eyes widened. “Um…okay, you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on.” Marin shook his head. “No can do, brother.” Alain looked at Ross and Juleka. They shook their heads. “A-alright, then.” Alain opened his phone as they walked up the steps, past the ticket kiosk. **[Nina-what’s going on between Marin and Adrienne? He won’t talk to her all of a sudden.]** He got a reply seconds later: **[wym? she hasn’t mentioned anything to me. Isn’t he usually like that?]**

**[no, it’s weird-i’ll tell u later. can u ask her?]**

**[sure.]** Alain put his phone back in his pocket, and let out a small sigh, following Ross and Marin up the stairs.

“That really doesn’t look like him, right?” Adrienne sat down next to her mother as they faced Klimt’s original painting. Adrienne had seen the version that hung in her mother’s office multiple times, but this was different: it was a pair of models, instead of her father and mother.

The man was leaning over the woman, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. But Adrienne noticed for the first time that unlike her mother’s version, where both her parents were standing, the woman on the right was kneeling, allowing her lover to lean over and kiss her. Adrienne realized that the man must have been shorter than his lover. _Just like…damnit_. Adrienne bit her lip-she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

Her mind was able to clear enough to hear an altercation between a security guard and a slim, nervous-looking art student. The art student was clutching a sketchbook as he watched the guard loom over him. “No recording of the art work-in any form. You’ll have to erase that and throw out the sheet of paper.”

“Wait! But I-“

“It’s just like photography.” There was a moment of tense silence. “Do you want me to take you down to my supervisor’s office? Maybe he can remind you of the rules.” The art student sighed as he ripped the sheet of paper out of the book, crumpled it, and stuffed it into his pocket. “That’s what I like to see.” The security guard walked away. Adrienne gripped the edge of her seat, looking around for any butterflies. “Uh-oh.” Gabrielle put her hand on Adrienne, not noticing the young girl’s worry. “I have to take a call. Can you wait here?”

“Uh-uh, sure.” Adrienne was too shocked to answer-on another day, she should have been upset at her mother leaving, but now was filled with fear, steeling herself for a fight. _Today of all days._ Gabrielle walked into the family bathroom, locked the door behind her, and stepped back. “Nuroo? Darkwings, rise.”

* * *

"I AM THE ERASER! AND IF I CAN’T ENJOY THE ARTWORK, THEN NO ONE CAN!” Chat took notes. The Akuma could erase anything he wanted, but only within the line of sight-if there was an obstruction between him and the thing he wanted to erase, he would have to erase that, too.

The akumatized artist’s primary weapon was an enlarged wedge eraser, which he would use as a staff or wand. He started with The Kiss-Chat gritted her teeth as she jumped behind an adjoining wall.

The Eraser swiped his eraser across the space in front of the painting. The entire picture slowly faded away from existence as if it had never existed in the first place. It was erased. The Eraser kept swiping away at the wall until the whole painting was gone, then the plaster wall behind the canvas, then the stone wall behind the plaster. He was about to jump off the building when a yo-yo axle slammed into the back of his head. “Hey!” The Eraser whipped around to face Ladybeetle-no, _Marin_. Chat’s heart sank.

The Eraser grinned as he turned around to face the superhero. “Ladybeetle! Give me your miraculous, and maybe I’ll consider leaving the Louvre alone once I’m done removing all the art here.”

Marin grinned in turn as he cracked his knuckles. “You know, that’s kind of a bad deal-I can actually appreciate this art.” He ran up to the Eraser and launched a spinning hook kick at the Akuma, hitting home with his foot crossing the Eraser’s face. “But I’m more of a dancer, myself.” He raised his hands to his face in a defensive stance. “Okay, question: who would win in a fight between you and Evillustrator?”

“I’m only interested in defeating you, Ladybeetle!” The Akuma raised his eraser and swiped across the air in front of Marin’s hands. Chat let out a silent scream. She stepped out into the fight, her hands shaking as the wrapped around her baton. “Okay, what?”

Marin looked at his hands-they had been erased away into thin air. There was no blood or gore-a blank void where a pair of bloody wrists should be. “You get that I know savate-“ Marin launched another attack with his feet, attempting to launch himself at the eraser.

The Eraser calmly waved Marin’s foot away, leaving him with only one foot left. He sprawled over the ground, hitting the back of his head on the hardwood floor. Marin tasted blood in his mouth, giving a small groan as he saw stars form in front of his eyes. “Get back here! I’ll bite your kneecaps off!” He made a small, empty laugh. Chat searched for the right space to attack her partner’s assailant-the back of the Eraser’s head was exposed.

The Eraser walked up to Marin. “Miraculous Ladybug no longer.” He leaned down and was about to pluck Marin’s earrings out when a black blur slammed into him.

Chat Noire pulled no punches. Again and again and again with punch after kick after punch. She even bit at the Akuma once or twice. She saw red as she kept launching her fists and feet at the Akuma. “Don’t. Hurt. Him!” Marin was lying on the cold ground. “Wait! Wait! Adrienne! It’s-it’s fine.” Marin groaned as he lay on the ground, unable to stand up. “Just-just take the object, do you know where it is?” _The paper._ Chat grabbed the piece of paper out of the Akuma's pocket and ripped it in two. The Akuma fluttered out of it. “How do you-“

“I don’t know! Just grab it!” Chat grabbed the Akuma as it struggled to get free. “Come on, just get the-“ Marin pulled himself up as he called a lucky charm. “Okay, a prosthetic leg. Now all I have to do is-Adrienne! A little help here?” Marin cocked his head at Adrienne. She slid the Akuma wing in her mouth as she fitted on the prosthetic-it fitted on like a glove. She helped him to his feet. “You didn’t have to-“  
“Shut up-“

“Don’t you think it was a little excess-”

“I said-shut up. And purify it.” Marin purified the Akuma and set everything to normal, letting out a sigh as Adrienne ran for the bathroom. “Wait.” Marin grabbed her arm. “Y-yeah? Are we going to talk about-“

“Don’t you agree you were a little excessive?” There was a small silence, pregnant with tension. “I thought we agreed that this wasn’t the fault of the akumatized villains.” Adrienne let her throat run dry. “Sorry. Can we talk about this later? Maybe…at patrol?” Marin let it hang in the air as he released Adrienne’s arm. All the tension of the moment released. “Yeah, sure! Totally. I’m sure, you know, the heat of the moment, and I-“

She was gone.

She was already in the bathroom, leaning over the sink, panting to herself as she looked into the mirror. “Okay. Okay. Get a grip. It’s just Marin. It’s just Marin. It’s just the dorky fashion nerd who sits next to you from class and is kind of a douchebag, now that I think about it.” She turned on the faucet, splashing water on herself. She looked back into the mirror. ”You can get over him.”

But she couldn’t. She had always liked Ladybeetle, but-she assumed that Marin being Ladybeetle would deaden her feelings for her superhero partner. Boy, was she wrong. And Ladybeetle turning out to be Marin? It only _enhanced_ them.

 

(Neither of them showed up to patrol that night)


End file.
